Arrests as Cape Town refugees stand-off goes on
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reiterated it will not be able to resettle the large group of refugees involved in a stand-off with Cape Town's Law Enforcement Unit, which is preventing them from sleeping on pavements in the CBD.
The refugees were removed from the perimeter of the Central Methodist Mission on Sunday, where they had been staying since October, as the City of Cape Town enforces its public by-laws.
The stand-off continued yesterday, notes a News24 report.
A woman and seven men were arrested for alleged trespassing when the group decamped from the Methodist Church on Greenmarket Square to St Mary's Cathedral opposite Parliament on Sunday. Yesterday, police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said they had appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court.
Law enforcement officers swooped on Greenmarket Square on Sunday to invoke by-laws that prevent sleeping in the open around the church, as well as cooking, washing clothes, and bathing. This was in line with an interim order issued by the Western Cape High Court on 17 February.
The court ordered a seven-day assessment of everybody living at the church, and after that, the city was entitled to enforce its by-laws.
The group moved to St Mary's Cathedral and were also removed from there. They then moved to a field near the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Yesterday, hundreds of law enforcement officers returned to remove them from the field, too, but it is not yet clear where they should move to.
The group has been holding out for resettlement in another country, saying they were targeted by criminals because they were foreigners, notes News24.
However, the UNHCR said it was impossible to resettle them.
Its spokesperson, Heinn Shin, said SA was signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and was the primary protector of refugees and asylum seekers in the country.
‘The UNHCR is not in a position to resettle or relocate protesters to a third country. Neither group nor individual interviews with the protesters formerly at the Central Methodist Church have been or will be conducted as resettlement is an option for a very small percentage of displaced persons globally who face acute protection risks.’
During yesterday's operation, three men were arrested for alleged assault on a police officer, contravention of the court order and resisting arrest.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
